Long Dai Bridge in Thu Duc City in southern Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City was officially opened to traffic on Saturday morning, connecting two wards of Thu Duc with a travel distance of only 500m instead of 10km as previously.

With a total length of 765m, including two approach sections, and a 14m width, the new bridge was inaugurated after six years of interrupted construction at a cost of nearly VND354 billion (US$14.6 million).

The bridge, with four lanes of traffic, links Long Binh and Long Phuoc Wards and helps cut travel distance between the two locations from some 10km previously to only about 500m now.     

Many local residents expressed their joy and excitement at the inauguration of the new facility after years of waiting.

While some other people cheerly took photos or videotaped the bridge, Nguyen Son, who lives in Long Binh, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he, as well as many other locals, had long waited for the bridge’s completion to shorten both distance and time of travel from there to Long Phuoc and vice versa.

“We now just go 500m to reach Long Phuoc instead of going through twisty streets with a total length of 10km. This new bridge will bring great convenience to travelers, help save travel time, and contribute to promoting the city’s socio-economic development,” Son said excitedly.

According to locals, the bridge will also help ease traffic jams remarkably during rush hours and facilitate travelers to take tours of ecotourist areas in Long Phuoc, which is actually an islet east of Thu Duc, surrounded by three rivers, Dong Nai, Tac and Soai Rap.

The construction of the bridge commenced in 2017 but was later suspended due to some site clearance problems until the end of 2022, when the work was resumed.

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